


Wizard with a Plan

by missmarvelle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Hogwarts House Sorting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Cho Chang, Canon Rewrite, Cedric Diggory Lives, Deaf, Deaf Character, Deaf Harry Potter, Disability, Disabled Character, Disabled Harry Potter, Gen, Good Dudley Dursley, Good Petunia Evans Dursley, Good Severus Snape, Good Vernon Dursley, Hard of hearing Harry Potter, Harry Potter is Good at Herbology, Harry Potter is Good at Potions, Herbology, Herbology Class (Harry Potter), Hypothermia, Magic, Magical Accidents, Magical Dudley Dursley, Mentor Pomona Sprout, No Bashing, No Sex, No Underage Sex, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Physical Disability, Ravenclaw Harry Potter, Smart Harry, Squib Dudley Dursley, Squib Petunia Evans Dursley, Tags May Change, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, a little? you'll see, hearing impairment, ish, they're best friends leave me along, they're children!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29324271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmarvelle/pseuds/missmarvelle
Summary: Harry Potter is deaf, although he would most likely use a capital D in the front; like Deaf. Everyone at his new school seems to think that's an issue. Harry just wants to learn how to teach Dudley magic. And play with the plants.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory & Harry Potter, Cho Chang & Harry Potter, Dudley Dursley & Harry Potter, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter, Petunia Evans Dursley & Harry Potter, Vernon Dursley & Harry Potter
Comments: 9
Kudos: 93





	1. Prologue (1981/1991)

**Author's Note:**

> I am not deaf nor hard of hearing!! I am doing a lot of research for this but I MAY STILL GET IT WRONG please please please correct me if you are D(d?)eaf/HoH because I would really appreciate your input if possible. However...this story does not try to focus on nor minimize Harry's deafness. Other characters may point it out and act like it should be a big deal but to Harry it's not! I won't be 'fixing' it with magic or making him rely on magic in place of his hearing. This is just a story about how I think being d/Deaf would affect Harry and his life at Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that sign language doesn't really work like spoken language and the grammar is very different, but I feel that it would be difficult for most readers to understand, so any italicized sentences in quotes are signed. You can imagine for yourself if they're speaking along with it - I figure they would just in case.  
> No, I won't be using the hearing aid to "cure" Harry. Deafness is a part of him, and I think he would try it out just to see what it was like. You'll see more of it in the next chapter, when they go to Diagon :)

_**November, 1981.** _

On the morning of November 1st, Petunia Dursley was looking forward to a letter from her sister about meeting for Boxing Day that December. She knew that Lily and James had been in hiding for the past two years, but figured that their fireplace could be hooked up to the...flue? No matter, she thought, and opened the door for the milk when she saw it: a baby. Without pause, she grabbed the poor child from their porch and brought it inside. It had been blustery and snowing for nearly two weeks now, and the babe was shivering quite heavily.

"Vernon!" Petunia called up the stairs, rushing to light the fireplace and warm up some blankets and a set of winter baby clothing before settling on the couch to grasp the child close.

Her husband came barreling in, holding Dudley, soon after she'd put the mittens and socks on the baby. "Pet, what's going on?" Vernon's throat seemed to stop working before her very eyes. "Is that..."

"No, you fool, it's not ours. Someone must have left the poor babe on the porch all night with only a rag and some letter to warm it. Warm a bottle of milk for it please, then contact the police?" She tugged a hat on its head, then reached out for Dudley. _Who would do such a thing?_

* * *

The police came and went, taking a report and promising a visit from a social worker the next day. Finally, the Dursleys (and Harry Potter, although they didn't know that yet) were left in peace for the night. Petunia sat down on the couch with the babe, who'd been discovered to be a boy after a stressful diaper change, and felt an uncomfortable lump underneath her. After groping around for a moment, she found a bent envelope labeled with her name and address. It was written in a peculiar script, almost reminiscent of the headmaster of Lily's school who had refused to let her attend.

Opening the envelope, she couldn't believe her eyes at its contents. Her sister had died the evening before, and Petunia was now holding Lily and James' one-year-old son, Harry. As soon as she looked down at the boy, she knew that it was true, and burst into a fit of tears.

"Oh, Pet, what's the matter?" Vernon tried to comfort her, and Dudley gave her many a pat on the head, but nothing could console Petunia, who'd only just begun to reconnect with her sister after many years of holding a grudge against her magical ways. How could the world be so cruel?

* * *

_**July, 1991.** _

A tap on Harry's shoulder woke him up. Aunt Petunia stood over him, holding a box and a letter with emerald ink on the front. She sat them down beside him before she began to sign. " _Wake up. You have a gift here for your birthday and a letter addressed to you._ "

Harry jumped up excitedly. His aunt and uncle had told him about a letter that would arrive on his 11th birthday from the magic school his parents went to. He'd been so impatient that he asked Aunt Petunia to send a letter to the headmaster asking if he could go early. She'd refused, but it was worth a try, right? Harry snatched up the letter and ripped it open, eagerly devouring the words inside:

> Dear Mr. Potter,
> 
> We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Aunt Petunia smiled at her nephew, a little sad around the edges, then pushed the box toward him. " _Open this before you get too excited._ " Harry shook it, amazed to find that nothing happened. Was it empty? He quickly broke the tape and found that it was not; the box held another piece of paper that he picked up and read.

> Harry,
> 
> Your uncle and I have been speaking about this for a long while. We decided to ask you first, just in case you didn't want it or weren't sure. Our family, specifically you, has been chosen to test the newest version of the hybrid hearing aid from Bell Laboratories. We want you to know that this is completely up to you, and we understand if you choose not to try it. We love you so much and we're so proud of you for everything you've been through and what you will become.
> 
> Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon

Harry sniffled. This was not what he was expecting on his birthday—perhaps a cake or a few presents, like Dudley had received a month before on his. He looked up at his aunt, who looked suspiciously close to crying, and made his decision.

" _I'll try it._ "


	2. August 1991

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes to Diagon Alley and Aunt Petunia gets frugal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no new friends yet, we'll save that for the next chapter when harry finally goes to hogwarts!!  
> sorry for not updating last week - i started failing my ap chemistry class so i had to focus on schoolwork a lot more. ultimately i had to cut this chapter in half because i felt it would be better to put out a shorter chapter than not putting one out for another week or two lol. expect updates on wednesdays, either every week or every two weeks! :) please enjoy!

_Books, wand, robes, catowltoad, cauldron, ingredients, hat, gloves, cloak, phials, telescope, scales,_ Harry chanted in his mind as he and Petunia made their way towards the gleaming marble bank looming over Diagon Alley. He'd happily memorized the list of first-year supplies in the two weeks before his aunt could finally take him to buy everything, and was eager to tell anybody who could listen (usually Dudley, to his cousin's increasing envy) about what he would need and why. Harry gave a giddy hop when they made it to the top of the stairs, and barely glanced at the inscribed words on the doors that made his aunt shudder frightfully. Inside the bank, rows of goblins lined the hall, counting money with wizened hands and sharp eyes. Their eyes seldom strayed from their work, only pausing to take the next wix in line. It was _so. freaking. cool!_

Aunt Petunia and Harry were called up to a goblin who looked a bit younger than the rest. The nameplate on his platform read Griphook, and he certainly looked deserving of the name. 

"Business?" croaked Griphook, never ceasing his count.

Harry's aunt grew even more nervous, if possible. "We need to get money for Hogwarts supplies from Harry's vault..." She trailed off as the goblin's face didn't change. "Ah, Harry Potter, sorry," Petunia tacked on, although the scar on Harry's forehead spoke quite louder than she. On the way from Little Whinging to London, she'd explained all of Harry's heritage to him via writing at stoplights. It had been an intriguing tale, and he'd eagerly asked for more right as his aunt was changing lanes. He'd subsequently decided to wait until later to ask any questions.

Griphook looked over his spectacles at them, nimble hands paused in midair. "I see. Do you have Mr. Potter's key?" When Aunt Petunia handed it over, the goblin begrudgingly stepped down from his platform and led them toward a backroom, where a minecart on tracks led deep into the cave. Harry's aunt turned pale.

* * *

" _Can we get my wand first, Aunt Petunia?_ " Harry tugged on her sweater pleadingly, pointing at Ollivander's wand shop.

His aunt shushed him. " _Let's try to find a smaller shop. They're less crowded, so we won't have to wait too long._ " She led him further into Diagon, keen eyes searching for any hint of a place less busy than Ollivander's. Finally, they found a squat brick shop titled **Highmore Woods and Wands** that looked quite promising. A small poster on the front door advertised a back-to-school sale on wands: only four galleons apiece. Aunt Petunia opened the door and stepped inside quickly.

Inside Highmore, a friendly-looking girl with dark braids, pointed ears, and a white scar slashing through her right eye stood at the front desk. She couldn't have been more than fifteen years old at the most, and featured a prominent set of eyebrows that Harry thought were very dashing on her. "Hi there! Welcome to Highmore. I'm Cyrence, nice to meet you. Are you here today for a wand?" At Petunia's affirmative nod, she—Cyrence— gestured toward a towering bookcase full of oblong bronze boxes, presumably with wands inside. "We've got quite the array, as you can see, so just pick out a couple that feel right and bring them over here to try out." Aunt Petunia quickly spoke to the shopkeeper, gesturing a bit at Harry, and was handed a small piece of paper and a muggle pen, which she used to write out the instructions and hand them to Harry.

Harry looked at his aunt, face brimming with curiosity. " _Go on then_ ," said Aunt Petunia, and Harry went over to the bookcase.

 _Where to start?_ He wondered, marvelling at the sheer number of wands. As quickly as he thought the words, they were overtaken by a peculiar feeling that Harry should pick up the fourth box from the left on the second shelf from the top in the eighth row of boxes. He carefully slid the heavy box out from its space and inhaled sharply at the sense of right that went through him. " _Er, Miss Cyrence, I think this is it,"_ Harry wrote on the paper. The box plunked onto the counter in front of the girl loudly, and she laughed a bit.

"Alrighty then, lets see...oh wow! You've chosen quite magnificently, Mr...?" A small quill floated up to Harry and began to write every word Cyrence spoke onto a notepad. Harry's eyes widened, and his aunt looked curiously but continued on.

" _Harry Evans_ ," replied Petunia, with a _look_ on her face that meant he was to follow along.

Cyrence continued, "Yes, Mr. Evans. As I was saying, this is a very special wand—you see, in all of the three-hundred years my family has run this shop, this wand has never been taken off the shelf. You are the first to choose it since it was made. Now, hold out your writing hand, like so, and take the wand and give it a little twirl." Harry took a moment to read the notebook where her little speech was written by the quill, then turned to give his aunt a grin. Petunia smiled back, then motioned for him to take the wand.

Harry twirled it a little, tentatively, and marvelled at the immediate shower of magenta sparkles that erupted around him. Petunia and Cyrence both clapped, although the latter's hands moved much quicker than his aunt's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cyrence looks kinda like this but not. grey lol: https://ibb.co/y6HQMwv  
> she's probably more like a medium-dark skintone bc her family is nepalese (and elven bchjkhnfja)


End file.
